Republican Mayor Celebrates African Refugees As The "New Pioneers" A Republican mayor in Utah is catching heat for turning the state's traditional Pioneer Day into a celebration of African refugees, dubbing them the modern-day equivalents of the Mormon settlers who founded the Beehive State. Provo Mayor Marsha Judkins posted an Instagram message this week praising African migrants who have resettled in Utah's fourth-largest city. Judkins said that Utahns mark Pioneer Day to ...